Sunday, August 30, 2009

You may have started wondering what's up with all the Argentina items I've been posting? It seems that the Argentina manufacturers produced a lot of superhero merchandise there... I don't know how much of it was licensed or not, but I think that the US manufacturers could've learned a thing or two, if you ask me!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

This first ad is from the February, 1977 cover-dated DC Comics. Of particular note for this blog is the Feiffer book (one of the first books about comics I ever owned, along with All in Color For A Dime), as well as the Amazing World of Superman tabloid! I've never owned a copy of the latter book... heck, I think the last time I even saw one for sale was in Metropolis, Illinois, about 12 years ago! I wish I'd bought it then... but I probably would've had to sell it years ago when I was out of work...

This Neal Adams-pencilled "Justice for All Includes Children" house ad came from the March, 1976 DCs!

From the March, 1974 DC books, here's a house ad for the Famous First Edition of Action Comics #1! This was the only FFE I ever had as a kid, and I loved it! I still can't believe that some people were fooled by some dealers who took the cardboard cover off this and sold it as an original Action #1... even as a kid, I knew it was bigger than the original!

From April 1978's cover-dated DCs, here's a house ad for two of the Dollar Comics... I loved the concept behind Dollar Comics, but I guess it's probably a good thing for the comics industry it didn't become the standard... can you imagine what they'd be trying to charge for a book that big today?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Here's one view of a trashcan that's pretty cool... what you can't see is that along with the first Superman appearance cover, this trashcan also features the first cover appearances of Batman and Wonder Woman!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

It's legendary in toy collecting circles how Mego had been first approached by Lucas (or an associate) about licensing this movie coming out called "Star Wars" (yeah, you may have heard about it), but Mego decided they weren't interested, so Lucas went to Kenner, who bit on it, and the rest is history.

You may even be aware that the death knell of the original 12" GI Joe line was due to the rising cost of plastics in the 1970s (the line was transformed to "Super Joe" for a short time, kind of a bendy Joe line), and this was why Kenner made their initial Star Wars line in the smaller scale.

Mego was also hit by the rise in plastics, and they made their own try with a smaller action figure line:... Comic Action Heroes! They later had their Pocket Heroes line, but we'll get to that another day.

Superman wasn't joined by Supergirl or Mr. Mxyzptlk in this line... and no, I have no idea why his insignia was so shiny, either! The line's main focus seemed to be on the "action" part of the name, as there were playsets produced that came with a hand-operated air pump. When you squeezed the pump, something happened... as you can see from the Fortress of Solitude playset:

I find it odd that this came with a Superman figure, because I'm sure a lot of parents ended up buying their child a Superman Comic Action Hero and a Fortress, and their kid ended up with two Supermen! I also find it odd that the Fortress of Solitude came with a meeting table. It seems it was really a Hall of Justice!

The line had one spin-off... the ultra-rare Comic Action Heroes boardgame, which I've only seen offered on eBay once!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

From 1978, this placemat, retelling the origin of Superman, was a Pepsi products promotion. Other placemats in the series featured origins of Batman, Flash and the original Captain Marvel (and probably others).

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About Me

I have been a Navy journalist, word processor, graphic designer, medical assisting student, cook, and truck driver, and am currently an eBay seller as well as an employee at a big retail store. I have been and always will be into comics, sf, tv, cartoons, monsters, oldies rock, and lots of other stuff.
If your blog has a link to this blog, let me know and I'll add you to my linklist!
You can contact me at waffyjon@comcast.net

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About the Fortress of Solitude Trophy Room:

Please join me every day at the Fortress of Solitude Trophy room as I present photos of all sorts of Superman collectibles, from toys to games to puzzles to original comic book art and more! I am not offering any of these items for sale - all photos have come from eBay auctions of the past.